Chapter 85: Could I Have an Autograph?

Second floor.

Along the corridor.

The sixth class’ public lesson had ended early, so the parents had already come out. They were chatting outside, and those with smoking addictions even hid in the bathroom to smoke.

“Eh? Why is there such a commotion in the first class?”

“What’s the matter? Is the teacher teaching?”

“It’s not teaching; I heard the experimental class is writing compositions today.”

“Oh, a student’s essay? Let’s go and take a look.”

“Alright, but we should be quiet. There’s the school’s Leaders and teachers in there.”

Soon, a number of curious parents had come outside of the first class. They had happened to hear Zhang Ye’s recitation of that “Tribute to the White Poplar”!

A parent touched the goose bumps on his arm. He was alarmed.

The other parents were also stunned. A person looked at the other parent from before, “Friend, are you sure this is a composition written by an elementary school student?”

The person wiped his sweat, “That’s right; their class is having a composition writing public lesson.”

The parents were all feeling amazed. Were elementary school students so impressive these days?

…

A few minutes later, The public lesson ended.

“End of class.”

“Rise.”

“Goodbye, students.”

“Goodbye, teacher.”

The language teacher smiled. “Thank you to all the parents who came. Today’s lesson will end here, so you can bring your children home. Today’s homework is for everyone to write a reflective piece after you read ‘Tribute to the White Poplar’. Tomorrow, I will check them in class.”

The moment that the lesson ended, Chenchen’s seat was surrounded by all the other children!

“Chenchen! Your uncle is so awesome!” Dede was the first to run over.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Chenchen was unlike her peers who would be smug in such a situation. She still had that grumpy little face of hers as she nonchalantly said, “Passable.”

“Is your uncle a superstar?” Another boy asked, “Why do the principal and the teachers know him?”

Chenchen quietly kept her pencil case and books, saying, “I guess so. I didn’t know he was that famous.”

“Chenchen, let’s go home together.”

“I want to go, too. Let my father drive us home.”

“Chenchen, Chenchen, do you want to come to my house and play? My house is nearby.”

A group of boys and girls surrounded her, asking all sorts of questions. They were very friendly.

Zhang Ye also felt relieved when he saw the current situation. He was greatly wishing to see this little rascal have good relationships with her classmates. Actually, little Chenchen was pretty and cute, like a porcelain doll, and probably no child in the school was prettier than her. From an aesthetic point of view, most people would be willing to play with her; however, as little Chenchen was too cold, and was mature beyond her years, this resulted in her not mixing well with others. After today’s matter, there was reason to believe that Chenchen’s interpersonal relationships would improve. This was also the only thing that Zhang Ye could do.

Tongtong and her father were already silent at this moment. The father brought his daughter out of the class. He did not want to stay a second longer, for he felt disgraced.

“Teacher Zhang Ye!” The language teacher suddenly walked over.

Zhang Ye, who was about to bring the child home, stopped in his tracks. He recalled that she had said something in class, something about talking after class. He then asked, “Teacher, previously, you were saying?”

The language teacher was a bit embarrassed. She did not look much older than Zhang Ye, and she had also not graduated for more than two years. After she hesitated for a moment, she took out a book, “Actually, actually, it’s nothing important, just that… I especially like your poems. I have seen your ‘Flying Bird and Fish’, ‘The Song of the Stormy Petrel’ and ‘A Generation’ more than ten times. I can even recite them without a mistake now. Especially that ‘Dead Water’ you recited a few days ago.. I like that the most. I am one of your hardcore fans!”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ye felt embarrassed, “Ah? Thank you, thank you.”

The language teacher held the book and looked at him, “Could I have an autograph? My husband also likes you. He likes your ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’. He stays up late every night to tune in to it. He has not missed a single episode!”

Zhang Ye immediately took the book over, “There’s definitely no problem at all. How many do you want?”

“One… No, two would be best.” The language teacher was very happy as she passed him a pen.

Zhang Ye’s words were not very nicely written, but that was his normal handwriting. When it came to autographs, it might seem funny, but this rascal had purposely practiced before. He had wished to be famous since he was young, fantasizing about being asked for an autograph one day. He finally had his wish fulfilled today. Come to think of it, this was the first time a fan had asked for his autograph. It was a day worth remembering.

“Here’s the autograph.” Zhang Ye returned the book to her.

“Thank you! Thank you!” The language teacher was especially excited.

Chenchen gave a cold glance over.

Zhang Ye then touched little Chenchen’s head and said to the language teacher, “This child Chenchen is not very sensible and not very obedient, so I’ll be troubling you in the future.”

“You’re welcome, too welcome.” The language teacher immediately said, “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely teach the child well.” Saying that, she whispered, noticing that there were no adults around, “Actually, with Chenchen’s results, she might be transferred out of the experimental class this or next semester, but… I will definitely help Chenchen fight for it, so that she won’t be transferred.”

Zhang Ye said, “Then I’ll have to thank you.”

At this moment, the teacher-in-charge, Zhao Mei, briskly walked over, “Teacher Zhang, give me your autograph, too. I am a loyal protector of your children’s fairytales. Hur Hur, back then for ‘Little Bunnies Be Good’, I had even activated the school’s teachers to vote for you. However, I like ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ the most.”

“Then I have to give you an autograph. Thank you for the support.” Zhang Ye gave an autograph to Zhao Mei.

After finishing this, Zhang Ye bade farewell to a few teachers and reached out his hands, saying to Chenchen, “Let’s go. Time to eat lunch at home.”

Chenchen again revealed those eyes of contempt, but she still obediently placed her tiny hand into Zhang Ye’s big hand, allowing him to hold her hand.

Zhang Ye led the child out of the classroom.

The other parents and children that had not left watched as they left, while they discussed about them.

…

Afternoon.

Jiaomen East.

With the two reaching downstairs, they took an elevator up the building.

Zhang Ye bragged, “How was it, little rascal? Now you know the awesomeness of Uncle Zhang, right? Don’t be too impolite to your Uncle Zhang in the future. You must learn to be respectful of your elders.”

Chenchen smirked, “Hur Hur.”

Zhang Ye “…”

With the elevator reaching the floor, Zhang Ye led her to the landlady’s house and pressed the doorbell.

In a short while, Rao Aimin, who was wearing an apron and had her hair tied up, opened the door, “You’re back? Wash your hands and prepare to eat.”

Rao Chenchen returned to her own room. Zhang Ye entered the kitchen with Rao Aimin, hoping to help. But noticing the table was full of dishes, he was shocked. “Landlady Auntie, what’s the occasion today? Why are there so many dishes? Is someone else coming? How many people are eating?”

Rao Aimin stir-fried some vegetables as she said, “It’s just the three of us.”

“Then that’s too much. How can the three of us have such big appetites?” Zhang Ye found it extravagant.

Rao Aimin did not even look at him, “Why are you saying so much crap? Just wait and eat.” Pausing, she said, “Chenchen’s teacher called me just now and told me what happened in school. Not bad; I didn’t know that you were quite that famous. Even the teacher knows you?”

Zhang Ye flaunted, “That’s right. It’s only you who keeps trampling on me. I’m not bragging. My popularity… Let’s not talk about it!”

Rao Aimin shrugged her shoulders, “Hur Hur.”

Following that, Rao Chenchen, who just came in, also smirked, “Hur Hur.”

The two ladies had given the mocking laughter at almost the same time. Even their expressions looked identical, like they were carbon copies, making Zhang Ye extremely depressed.

You’re the Hur Hur! Your whole damned family is Hur Hur!*

…

In his own house.

After returning home, he held his stomach and burped. It was too delicious. The landlady might be unsparing with her words, and could be as negative as she could, but her cooking was par excellence. Anyways, Zhang Ye had completely succumbed to the landlady’s culinary skills. Although he had previously eaten Rao Aimin’s cooking, it was clear that she had not put her heart into it. It was like the food had been prepared by a completely different person. It could be seen that the landlady was using such a method to thank him for his help today, which was why she put in so much more effort into the meal.

Delicious!

His stomach was exploding!

Zhang Ye climbed before his computer. As he digested, he surfed the internet. Ever since he entered the E-list celebrity ranks, there were many people who @ him. He did not find it tiring, and looked at every one of them. After spending an hour, he finally saw the newest one and was immediately focused on it.

The person who posted it was called “The Skies for the Children”.

“Today I saw my idol Teacher @Zhang Ye. Due to certain reasons, I won’t say how I met him. But thankfully, I received two of Teacher Zhang Ye’s autographs. And I’m very honored to have listened to Zhang Ye recite his new work live, which was a prose. Weibo doesn’t allow too many words, so I’ll include the essay in an attached picture. The words are written by a child, so everyone can ignore that.”

The entire text of “Tribute to the White Poplar” was posted.

This was a picture of Chenchen’s notebook, taken using a cellphone.

Zhang Ye knew at once that the person who posted it was the language teacher. He immediately helped by forwarding it.

“Teacher Zhang’s new work?”

“Zhang Ye also knows how to write prose?”

“How can’t he? Wasn’t ‘The Song of the Stormy Petrel’ a prose poem? It’s about the same.”

“I’ve seen it. It’s really impressive. It indeed looks like it was written by Teacher Zhang Ye.”

“Ah, Teacher Zhang also forwarded it and gave it a like. It’s definitely Teacher Zhang Ye’s work!”

“Everyone, quickly push it to the top. The next big work after ‘Dead Water’! Don’t let it sink!”

“After seeing ‘Tribute to the White Poplar’, my mind suddenly had these words, ‘Tribute to Zhang Ye’. What sort of talent is needed to create so many works worthy of being classics!?”

“You really saw him? What does Teacher Zhang look like? Is he handsome?”

The language teacher replied, “You can’t describe him with handsome, but I think his eyes are quite charming. Haha, my husband is coming home soon, so I’ll delete this reply in a short while.”

That afternoon, ‘Tribute to the White Poplar’ did not receive as many forwards or clicks as Zhang Ye’s previous works, perhaps because it was more educative in nature. But many teachers and scholars who worked in education treated it as a treasure as they forwarded it and discussed about it. It did not draw in a large audience, but it was surprisingly well-acclaimed! This was Zhang Ye’s only work that did not have much controversy. Those who had seen it did not have any doubts!

* This is a popular Chinese slang in the form of “You’re the one XXX! Your whole damned family XXX!”. It came from “My Own Swordsman”’s character, Mo Xiaobei. The original text goes along the lines of someone saying to Mo Xiaobei, “Mo Xiaobei, you are a child who matured early!”, before Mo Xiaobei replies “You’re the one who is maturing early! Your whole damned family is maturing early!”